Prime
Uganda Airlines clears the air on Oulanyah chartered flight
A Uganda Airlines Airbus plane at Entebbe airport. The airlines has spoken out about circumstances under which one of its long-haul aircrafts flew Speaker Jacob Oulanyah, to Seattle, USA for specialised treatment. PHOTO/FILE
What you need to know:
- The plane was chartered for two days to take the Speaker for medical care in the US.
Uganda Airlines has spoken out for the first time about circumstances under which one of its two long-haul aircrafts—an Airbus A330-800 neo—flew the Speaker of Parliament, Mr Jacob Oulanyah, to Seattle in the United States of America for specialised treatment.
Information in the public domain suggests that the Parliamentary Commission paid $500,000 (approximately Shs1.8 billion).
Now, Ms Shakirah Rahim—the spokesperson of Uganda’s flag carrier—has dismissed the figure as “highly exaggerated.”
Ms Rahim told Sunday Monitor that while Uganda Airlines—whose fleet also includes four midrange Bombardier aircrafts—chartered out one of its airbuses for purposes of flying Mr Oulanyah to the US, the figures being touted are a fabrication.
“Those figures didn’t not come from us. I don’t know who cooked up those figures, but they did not come from us,” Ms Rahim said.
Whereas information in the public domain seemed to suggest that the Airbus that evacuated Mr Oulanyah was grounded in Seattle, Ms Rahim says the plane was solely chartered for purposes of flying the stricken Speaker out. She adds that it flew back shortly after.
Paying for a plane to park in Seattle for a month would be inconceivable, she further reasoned.
“There is no aircraft parked in Seattle. It was chartered and it went to do what it went to do and it came back. It was a contractual arrangement of two days,” Ms Rahim said.
Who is paid?
Parliament has been tight-lipped about the financial details about Mr Oulanyah’s emergency flight in February. Ms Rahim was also equally economical with information, citing client confidentiality.
“Who in their right mind can tell you that this person chartered our aircraft and this is how much they paid? For charters, it is a separate arrangement and information is restricted. It is a client business relationship. I can’t disclose such information,” she said.
It should however be noted that Parliament’s travel kitty has been a major talking point that also attracted President Museveni’s attention.
For instance, last April, the President used his maiden address to first-time elected NRM-leaning to describe legislators’ overseas travel as lavish and a form of “pure corruption.”
A few months before Mr Museveni made the comments at Kyankwanzi there were reports in the media that a top official of the 10th Parliament had hopped on to the planes 20 times in a period of 16 months in the period between 2017 and 2019 in the name of attending meetings of the Executive of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA).
An MP of the same Parliament had also raked up several air miles while making as many as 21 trips. In fact, both members of the 10th Parliament were discovered to have not only drawn huge travel bills and overseas per diem from the Parliamentary Commission.
Even after Mr Museveni called for a reduction in foreign travels, MPs voted last May to increase the foreign travel kitty by close to Shs20 billion. According to a policy statement of the Parliamentary Commission for the financial year 2021/2022, the travel kitty was increased from Shs400.7 billion in the financial year 2020/2021 to Shs420 billion.
Under the said budget Shs34.4 billion was lined up for travel and transport; Shs1.051 billon for travel to African parliaments; Shs1 billion for travel to the House of Commons and; Shs.2.1 billion for travel to attend workshops and seminars.
Whereas there was a provision for travel abroad under medical tourism, under which Mr Oulanyah’s flight and treatment would naturally fall, there was no specific figure provided for it under the policy statement.
Increasing charters
Mr Oulanyah is not the only government official known to have flown out of the country using part of Uganda Airlines fleet. The Commander of Land Forces, Lt Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has also been using the Bombardiers in his shuttle diplomacy.
Gen Kainerugaba, who is also President Museveni’s son and senior presidential advisor on special operations, has used the jets to make at least three trips to the Rwandan capital, Kigali, and a trip to the Egyptian capital Cairo.
Mr Rahim, told Sunday Monitor that such use of the airline’s fleet is a pointer at the growing influence of Uganda’s flag career in the regional aviation business. “We are in the business of making money and our charter operation is doing so well. Even now in the low peak season, it (chartering out planes) is what is really helping us to manage our books,” Ms Rahim opined.
Observers however fear that lightning could strike twice. Initially established in 1977, Uganda Airlines ceased operations in 2001 after being run like a government parastatal. Government functionaries reportedly could access free credit to be used for flights of all ranges. Ms Rahim has, however, reassured the public that the services such as those extended to Mr Oulanyah and Gen Kainerugaba were not ‘on the house.’
“The charter policy we have is that you cannot position an aircraft without paying upfront because we have to get navigation fees, licences, pay the crew, pilot, handling fees on either side. It is a heavy investment that you cannot play around with. Whoever is chartering has to pay upfront,” she said.
Where that money comes from, however, remains a million dollar question.
No aircraft in Seattle
''There is no aircraft parked in Seattle. It was chartered and it went to do what it went to do and it came back,” Ms Shakirah Rahim, the spokesperson of Uganda’s flag carrier.
